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Thank you so much for your kind words and reviews. I would like to say Welcome to those that have just began reading this story. Here is the next chapter i hope you guys enjoy this. A Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it and Happy New year to all. Don't forget to review.

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Chapter 29

At the end of the meeting, better yet, during the confrontation with the advisors, Rin felt that a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt like Sesshomaru had purposely given her this position so she could prove herself. When the advisors bowed to her and left the room, she stood to bid them farewell. The Grandmaster stood beside her, she almost felt giddy because of his approval.

"Do you think you are ready to tackle the problems of the demon population, my Lady?" The Grandmaster's question caught Rin off-guard and her surprise showed in the deep brown depths of her eyes.

As the surprise wore off, Rin didn't know how to feel. She was divided between feeling offended at his lack of faith in her and afraid because she was beginning to doubt herself. She had made so many mistakes since arriving in the West. The self-confidence she had prided herself on acquiring during her time with her mother was almost non-existent now. All her training in the East and North had meant nothing in the archaic systems of the West. So far everything she had done had been scrutinised and disliked. She had unknowingly insulted everyone from the servants working in the kitchen to the Lord of the West. She had requested the Grandmaster to join her so he could stop her from making any more mistakes but his question was forecasting the disaster she was about to orchestrate.

"Do you think I am incapable and unprepared to handle the problems of the demon population?" Her tone of voice reflected the defeat she felt, her low confidence mirrored in her downcast eyes and hunched posture. She answered his question with a question of her own showing him that perhaps her training had humbled her. The Grandmasters keen eyes twinkled at the defeated demoness before him and a small smile of affection touched his lips.

The Grandmaster was very old, he had taught extraordinary demons like Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Auria. Beings of extraordinary power and yet they had stood before him at the start of their training heads bowed, ready for his instruction. He had berated them, insulted them and given them the harshest forms of reprimand he could think of, yet never in their training had they raised their eyes to him let alone uttered a sound. Today he saw them both being the demons he knew they would become, they were proud and had earned the positions they held. When Lord Sesshomaru showed his ego, when he looked down on beings the Grandmaster didn't feel that it was unjust. The training, the hardship had taught the Lord of the West to be humble, even if that was buried deep below his exterior, the Grandmaster was confident that Sesshomaru was not unreasonable. Auria's humble nature was more obvious, she was kind and gentle. She was capable of being harsh but again he stood content in the knowledge that she was just.

This former human had been nothing like he had expected. He had expected a humble female, one that had seen difficult times and learnt from them. He expected immaturity but he didn't expect the level of ignorance the former human was able to display. He didn't expect a blatant disregard for the rules. Her entitled and sheltered upbringing first in the Western household and then in the Eastern had left much to be desired. He had quickly been acquainted with her constant self-pity and self-centeredness. He couldn't understand where her pity came from, she had been given a situation that many humans and demons alike would desire and she had done absolutely nothing to earn it. When she had helped Lord Sesshomaru as a child and he had in turn protected her, brought her home and made her his ward that was more than enough. Auria didn't have to take her in, more importantly she didn't have to adopt her, make her a demon and the Princess of the East. He knew about Lady Rin's tenure in the North as well. Once Lord Sesshomaru had given him the job to train her he had reached out to a friend in the Northern council to gain an insight into Lady Rin's time in the North. Her training had been in conflict resolution and he was told that she had been a lot humbler than compared to now. However, nothing could explain the Lady's self-pity, she was under the impression that though Lady Auria had done her a great favour by taking her in, she had also disadvantaged her by not training her correctly. Though he still felt her resentment of the Lady Auria he was not the person to explain this situation to her, it was best that her mate explained the reasons behind Lady Auria's choices. After all, he was not a confidant of the Lady of the East and didn't need this female to air anymore personal grievances with him regarding her mother. This former human girl had, had the audacity to explain how unfair her situation was to him. She had not only complained about Lord Sesshomaru's behaviour towards her but had shared her feelings about the 'archaic' pack system of the West.

Albeit this had been at the very beginning of her training, he was still wary of her feelings and attitudes. Since the first day of training she had come a long way to understanding that ignorance was not bliss. She had come to understand that her position had to be earned and he saw today her trying to earn that position. He asked her the question because he wanted her to show him the confidence in her abilities. It had been a struggle for him to teach her to take pride in her abilities but still be humble. A bigger struggle had been for her to have confidence and if she failed at something to accept her failure and try to improve rather than pity herself and blame others for her failure. In this moment, he saw her as he thought she should have been at the very beginning of her training. He felt the same affection towards her that he felt towards all his students and finally felt that she had earned his help.

"Self-doubt is unbecoming in a Lady of your status even if that status is temporary." His tone was hard but much softer than the harsh way he normally reprimanded her. At his words, Rin looked up at the Grandmaster, his face was expressionless but his eyes had noticeably softened. It seemed like he was giving her a chance, even though his words still carried the stinging reminder of her lack of status. She was almost becoming immune to the constant reminder of her lack of position, she didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but she knew that she couldn't give up. She wouldn't fail even if she knew many people hoped that she would. No matter how ill prepared she was for this position, no matter if her adopted mother had handed her over to a pack of hungry wolves or dogs she had promised herself she wouldn't give up. She would show everyone that she was worth the position she felt she deserved and earn the respect of all those who thought of her as entitled and undeserving.

…..

Sesshomaru was still in the Eastern Palace resting in a room provided by Auria before they travelled to Totsai, the demon blacksmith, with their ideas for weapons. He had heard Rin's last thoughts and it made him frown. When Auria had explained to him her desire for Rin to become a demon and her heir, there were many things that he thought could go wrong and this was one of them. Rin had been human and her human mentality had carried over. Rin's most desired quality was going to be her biggest weakness. Sesshomaru had wanted a mate that had the ability to feel empathy and most demonesses other than Auria were incapable of that, humans on the other hand had an abundance of this emotion.

Auria had loved Rin from when she had first entered his household. She had loved Rin because Rin had saved his life, she had loved Rin because Rin was a child and because he had liked Rin for being a breath of fresh air in his life. Auria had been able to accept her as her own because of these pre-existing reasons. Auria's ability to love Rin and accept her was not spontaneous. Rin's acceptance of Auria was not spontaneous as well. Rin had adored his cousin from the first time she met her and that was because of Auria's acceptance of her. Unlike his mother and most other demons of nobility, Auria didn't turn away from Rin she accepted her and showed her affection. Rin was quick to accept Auria as her mother but perhaps it was too much to ask of someone so young, and that was what he had feared.

Auria had picked Rin for the same reason he did, because she was human and capable of feeling empathy. Though they suspected that their desired qualities of Rin's humanity had passed onto her, he wondered how true that was. Rin had shown demon emotions only this far, her self-doubt and lack of understanding was because she was unfamiliar with demon society.

His thoughts were interrupted by a very angry looking Inuyasha entering his room. Inuyasha was dressed in his fire rat hakama and haori, Tessaiga rested in its sheath upon his left hip, his silver hair was a mess.

"You want to explain the little side quest you want to send me on brother?" As Inuyasha demanded an explanation, a sheepish looking Auria entered the room behind Inuyasha. Sesshomaru had to admit that as much as he liked annoying his brother, he didn't even know what the hanyou was talking about.

"Um, Inuyasha, it isn't Sesshomaru who is making the request. It's me." Inuyasha didn't look any less furious but his brows did crinkle a little to show a small frown on his face. Sesshomaru, whom had been reclining on the futon, sat up, curious about the mystery request.

"So, you want me to get Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Kiara to agree to go with me in search of the Shikon no tama? Whilst the enemy might be preparing to attack us any day?" Inuyasha's words had Sesshomaru on his feet in the blink of an eye and Auria visibly paled.

"You want three humans, a demon cat that can't take human form and a half-breed to look for the most dangerous jewel in existence?" Sesshomaru's tone was flat but his aura was overpowering them both with fury.

"Let's calm down first, both of you. If you think on it, my idea is not unreasonable. The Shikon no tama is dangerous I agree but that is because it taints a person and uses them to do unspeakably bad things. However, Kagome is a miko and she is the priestess of the Shikon no tama. Descended from Midoriko herself, Kagome has the ability to purify tainted shards of the jewel. She has been doing that already since the jewel was shattered and whenever a demon tainted by the jewel appears she helps to exterminate the demon and purify the shard it has in its possession. Miroku is a priest, yes he has a wondering hand but his spiritual power is unparalleled as is his knowledge. He can help Kagome in this quest. Sango is a demon exterminator, she's extremely skilled and does this job for us in the human villages when rogue demons attack. Lastly, Inuyasha is more than capable of handling himself, he is my general and your brother, I have complete faith in his abilities. My request is not that outrageous, I am just asking that instead of remaining in the village, you all travel through the lands and collect the rest of the shards of the Shikon. I mean with the speed we are collecting its shards now, it will take a few centuries for us to be able to complete the jewel, this way we can do it quickly." Both brothers were stumped and could not understand why their cousin was suddenly going so far to complete the jewel. The jewel was not the priority right now, the coming war was and Auria was too focused on the jewel right now.

"This Sesshomaru fails to understand the importance of completing that cursed jewel right now. We should be focusing our efforts on the coming war not splitting up and running around after the broken shards of a bauble." Sesshomaru was quick to voice his thoughts and Inuyasha was nodding in agreement with his brother.

"That bauble dear cousin could, win us this war." Auria stated adding a glare with her statement for good measure. Both brothers were now frowning, wondering if Auria had taken too much stress and needed a break, how was the Shikon even related to the war.

"How?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow asking Auria to explain herself. Auria still furious at them both and exasperated at their thick headedness moved into the room and sat down cross legged on the futon. Watching her sit down and visibly hold back a sigh of frustration, both brothers moved around and sat down on the futon in the triangle shape they normally did when discussing important matters.

"The Shikon no tama is a jewel of souls. It has trapped inside it thousands of demon souls. Demons that battled Midoriko and those she continues to battle trapped inside that jewel until it exists. If the Shikon was completed and a selfless wish made, the souls trapped inside the jewel would become free. These souls having once been confined inside a magical object can again be confined inside say a sword like Sounga. We can do the same thing we are doing to Sounga with every weapon a soul gets trapped inside and in this way, we might be able to solve the problem of weapons for our armies." It was a remarkable idea. Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru looked at Auria with great admiration, for her idea would solve the problem that had been plaguing them since they discovered they would be going to war.

"Your idea is to capture the souls that escape from the Shikon and forge weapons. Totsai would need to prepare all the weapons in advance and we will need to come up with a strategy to detain the escaping souls. This Sesshomaru sees only one issue with the plan, Inuyasha cannot enter the Southern territory." Sesshomaru was quick to begin working out the finer details of the plan.

"I can enter the territory of those bastards, nothing can stand in front of Tessaiga and with the rest of my pack nothing can stop us from gathering all the shards." Inuyasha boasted confidently, patting Tessaiga in emphasis and affection. Sesshomaru shook his head at his thick-headed brother for missing the point.

"Sesshomaru is right Inuyasha, you can't enter the Southern territory, we are not ready for our enemy just yet and you entering the South without direct invitation could cause suspicion or the war could begin before we are ready. It is in our best interest to delay this war and buy ourselves as much time as we can while we prepare. We cannot afford to arouse suspicion even from our allies, this matter must be kept between us until we have everything that is required to execute our final plans." Ever the voice of reason, Auria appealed to Inuyasha's rational side, forcing the inu-hanyou to sigh heavily and nod while rolling his eyes. Sesshomaru on the other hand was shaking his head but smirking at his brothers exaggerated way of answering.

"Once the games begin, our enemies and allies will become distracted and that will be the perfect time for Inuyasha to assemble the pack and move out in search of the shards, though I suggest leaving the fox kit you have adopted behind. The road is no place for a fox kit and this quest is filled with dangers." Both Auria and Inuyasha were shocked at Sesshomaru's concern for Shippo.

"It's ironic that you would mention that, I remember you patrolling your lands with Rin in tow more times than I care to mention." Auria said. Inuyasha's warm chuckle permeated the room as Sesshomaru coolly continued to stare at his brother and cousin.

"There is a big difference between patrolling one's territory and going on a dangerous quest battling possessed demons to retrieve the Shikon. Moreover, Rin was perfectly safe because she was under the protection of this Sesshomaru, I cannot say the same for the fox kit." At Sesshomaru's insult, Inuyasha was on his feet Tessaiga drawn and Auria could not help laughing at the scenario. Sesshomaru continued to sit and look haughty while Inuyasha was glaring, yelling and wildly gesticulating at his brother with his sword drawn.

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